Remembering Alan Adler, FreightWaves journalist and mentor

Adler’s dedication to service and helping others extended outside of journalism. In addition to being well known for his extensive baseball card collection — many of which were visible during his interviews — Adler was a fixture in the community through his volunteer work and outreach.

He was a man of faith, serving as a church elder, Bible study fellowship group leader, coordinator for Financial Peace University classes and a volunteer for the blight relief organization Life Remodeled in Detroit. He also helped distribute food with Forgotten Harvest and spent weeks helping with disaster relief efforts in Haiti and Iowa with Samaritan’s Purse.

His commitment to serving others extended to his family. His obituary notes he often brought his children Storm, Joel and Mark along with him as he served.

Retirement from FreightWaves did not stop Adler. He continued to maintain a twice-weekly Meals on Wheels route while helping Love in Action of the Tri-Cities by filling local pantry orders and picking up donated food from local retailers. He represented Love in Action at the Grand Haven farmers market and delivered food backpacks to elementary school children.

For those close to Adler, baseball was one of his loves. He was a dedicated Cleveland Guardians fan, a passion that began during his time at the Cleveland AP bureau. Behind his desk were collections of baseball cards from his extensive collection. He completed a prized set of 1958 Topps baseball cards shortly before his cancer diagnosis in February 2026. His memorial noted that monitoring his fantasy baseball scores remained important even up to his last days in hospice.

Adler is survived by his wife of more than 35 years, Deborah Adler; three children, Genevieve “Storm” Adler, Joel Adler and Mark Adler; sisters Alice (Paul) Plybon and Kathleen Zimmer (Dave McKeon); niece and nephews Trish (Cliff) Moody, Chip (Monika) Plybon and Zachary (Chelsea) Zimmer; and great-niece Evelyn Zimmer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard (Dolores) and Marjorie Adler, and brother-in-law Thom Zimmer.

Thoughts are with the Adler family. Alan left a lasting legacy of service to others and commitment to journalistic excellence.

He will be missed.